Every graduating class comes with hundreds of talented and capable students ready to take on the world. At PPCHS, however, two seniors in the top 5% are chosen each year to receive one of the school’s highest honors: the Jag Pride Award. After submitting essays, letters of recommendation, and going through interviews, these students are not only recognized for their academic achievements but also their character. Celebrated by friends and families at graduation, this award highlights what it truly means to be a Jag. For the class of 2026, that honor goes to Anjali Yalamanchi and Jonathan Alonzo.
Throughout their school careers, both Alonzo and Yalamanchi have an assortment of impressive achievements, including community service and volunteer work to help their city.
When it comes to Yalamanchi, one of the meaningful services she has done is her work with Village Mentors, a nonprofit organization that connects mentors to underprivileged students all around the world.
“I instantly joined this club as a mentor and chose to guide a student in Ahero, Kenya,” says Yalamanchi. “During our weekly one-hour sessions, I worked with my mentee on improving their English and Math skills, assisting in setting up the goals and playing games.”
When she later became a board member, she managed the mentorship program, offering resources and advice, whilst collaborating with the director of the libraries of Village Book Builders.
Similarly, Alonzo finds great pride in his role with Mu Alpha Theta (MAT), the school’s math honor society, and describes his time as president, his “most august leadership role”.
During his presidency, the club transformed into becoming more community-driven than ever before. With Alonzo’s hard work, there were new opportunities for members to get involved in new events, drives, and especially tutoring. Moreover, under his guidance, more and more students participated in national, regional, and local competitions for students who had an affinity for math.
With an award as serious as Jag Pride, the winners not only have to have the smarts and the work, but most importantly, to be an overall benevolent and well-rounded person.
Often described as a compassionate and principled person, Yalamanchi uses her integrity and resilience to help direct her life.
“Resilience is one of those powerful values that has shaped me deeply, especially when navigating through the loss of my father alongside academic and personal responsibilities,” Yalamanchi explains, describing how her experiences have taught her to continue moving forward even during difficult times.
Alonzo later explains that he believes that compassion is one of his most defining qualities and is integral to the human experience. “We as humans live such vastly different lives, but I believe that an essential universalizing factor is the fact that we can always do better.”
And though Yalamanchi and Alonzo have strived and succeeded immensely throughout high school, there are moments when they were overwhelmed.
During Yalamanchi’s junior year, balancing rigorous academics like Advanced Placement (AP) classes and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), alongside leadership roles, the pressure was catching up.
For Yalamanchi, she felt as if she was constantly trying to keep up externally while internally processing a lot, “There were days when I felt mentally exhausted before the day had even properly started. I would sit in class trying to focus while carrying grief, pressure, and self-doubt all at once.
To combat this, Yalamanchi didn’t find a perfect strategy, but the simple reality that as “humans, we learn to adapt to what life gives.”
Furthermore, she found a strong connection between going to bed at 10 pm rather than 12 am and reduced stress, as she tailored a study approach that worked for her.
As graduation is only just around the corner, these students are getting ready to embark on a new world, but keeping the lessons that they learned during their time at PPCHS.
“Although my life has been completely transfigured since freshman year, the one constant has been an undying drive for knowledge,” Alonzo recalls about what principles he took with him since his first year of high school.”
As for Yalamanchi, she reflects on what she has left behind at PPCHS: “I hope the impact I leave on the school is one where people feel more supported and understood because of the way I treated them.”
For both Yalamanchi and Alonzo, their high school chapter is closing, and a new one is emerging, but their compassion and resilience will help them along the way, and the knowledge that they will always be a Jag.
